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Rebecca Wiasak has twice been a world champion on the track and yesterday in Ballarat she held off a strong field to become the 2018 national criterium champion. 

Here is a gallery of images by Jean-Pierre Ronco – presented by Cervélo Australia.

 

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Rebecca Wiasak, Sarah Roy and Kimberly Wells: what a podium for one of the first races of 2018! This is a trio who have helped raise the profile of women’s cycling in Australia. And they continue to demonstrate how exciting criterium racing can be.

Yesterday’s live stream by SBS on Facebook netted a big audience and it is clear that the Field of Dreams theory – “if you build it, they will come” – applies to cycling. Provide the footage and the fans will tune in.

The crowd in Ballarat was, according to some veteran commentators, bigger than ever and they got to witness a great race on a tight circuit in the centre of town.

 

As the events from Ballarat and Buninyong unfold this week, RIDE Media will be posting a series of galleries by Victorian-based photographer, Jean-Pierre Ronco.

 

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Photos: Jean-Pierre Ronco

(Image Writer)

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These galleries are sponsored by Cervélo Australia, the bike supplier for the renamed Bennelong-SwissWellness team.

 

– Find out more about the Cervélo range by visiting the race village of the Tour Down Under next week, test ride a bike, and get a chance to win a fantastic Cervélo S3 disc bike! –

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Wiasak has been through some interesting times of late. Her fiancé, Ben Hill, fractured a vertebrae at a race in China towards the end of 2017. While in hospital his visa expired and, despite finally being fit to travel, he wasn’t able to board a flight as he needed to manage the appropriate paperwork.

Eventually the couple would see each other again as Hill returned to Australia – wearing a body brace – in time to see Wiasak win her title in Ballarat.

The sequence above shows the closing moment of the criterium with Wiasak holding off a late challenge from Roy and Wells.

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Michelton-Scott, the name of the GreenEdge team in 2018, was aggressive throughout the race and it would be rewarded with a silver medal for Sarah Roy.

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With the running the traditional Bay Series criteriums in advance of the championships, it was a different sort of build up to racing in 2018. In the past, by the time the race for the green and gold jersey was contested, riders had a little understanding of form – who is going well, who is still warming up… who is going to be The Rider to watch.

As always, the team once known as ‘GreenEdge’ – now called Michelton-Scott – had strength in numbers and they didn’t mind lighting up the race in Ballarat last night. There were numerous moves and a lot of action from the field of 74 starters.

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New season, new colours…

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The elite women’s race also includes riders from the under-23 category. Kristina Clonan was fourth overall, and first in the under-23 category. She stood on the podium, received a green and gold jersey (and matching cap – an interesting initiative for 2018) and applause from the crowd.

Over half the riders abandoned and only 30 finished.

 

(Stay tuned for more galleries from the under-23 and elite men’s races,
proudly presented by Cervélo Australia.)

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